


Where the Sun Never Shone

by Anorien



Series: Lord of Nothing [3]
Category: Norse Religion & Lore, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Comics), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Blood Loss, Mother-Son Relationship, This really is the worst thing I've written, Torture, beatings, extreme violence, lots of trigger warnings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-26 23:54:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21667726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anorien/pseuds/Anorien
Summary: A recount of Loki's first night in prison post-Avengers... at least, what he can recall.[Idea conceived prior to Dark World]
Series: Lord of Nothing [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1047495
Kudos: 6





	Where the Sun Never Shone

The blinding strobe and roaring suddenly ceased, and the feeling of magnetism was gone. Loki opened his eyes, observing his surroundings. There stood Heimdall, Gatekeeper of Asgard, in the center of his new observatory. Last the trickster had seen him, he was encased in ice. Perhaps he survived somehow. The arced golden walls were being rebuilt - a new Bifrost to replace the one lost what felt like an eternity ago. Loki bristled quietly at the thought. The sound of footsteps and hoofbeats approaching fell on his ears, and the trickster god glanced to his side. ' _Odin_.'

"Father," Thor said, offering him the cask that held the Tesseract. The Allfather paid him no attention, Instead, his eye bore into his bastard former-son. He gripped Gungnir in his right hand, fingers drumming along the shaft. His eye flashed, and a cruel grin crept over his face, teeth showing as if he were about to laugh. What Loki wouldn't do to rip off this muzzle and tear into him. He could taste blood on his tongue.

"Take him," Odin ordered, a monstrous glint in his eye. Several guards moved toward Loki, grabbing him by the arms and forcing him onward. It would be a long and shameful walk down the bridge, undoubtedly to be made worse by Odin's self-righteous prattling. Instead, there was an eerie silence. 

***

The palace halls were filled with the sound of Frigga's desperate cries. The guards formed a wall in front of her, shielding her from Loki.

"Let me see him! Let me past! He's my son! I command you as Queen to let me see him!"

It was all in vain. Loki caught only a glimpse of her despairing face as he was dragged to the entrance of the dungeons. For the first time in a long time he felt a sense of benevolence, a pang of humaneness that made him yearn to go to her. He never took his eyes from where she stood as he was forced down the steps, violently dragged by Odin's guards, his mother's shouts echoing down the long corridor until the cold stone absorbed them. 

Odin's dungeons were vast. The cells varied by level, each intended for a different type of creature or criminal. Loki knew them all from the Allfather's teachings, though he had only seen them a handful of times. The walk seemed an eternity, his body still wrought with pain after being assaulted by the beast they called the Hulk. He was being taken to the lower levels, the ones he'd never seen, only heard of. He supposed it could be worse. In later years he would learn to regret daring to think that.

Finally he was dragged to the cell furthest below ground, nine levels down. The heavy wooden door creaked as a guard pushed it open. Loki shifted his jaw and tongue, the gag only digging further into the flesh behind his teeth. He glanced at the Einherjar around him, noticing only the kingsguard - no Thor, no Warriors Three, and suspiciously, no Odin. Perhaps the trial and sentencing would be saved for another day.

Little did the trickster know his sentence was already passed. The guards shoved him into the cell. It was dark, lit only by torches and a brazier near the center of the room. The stone walls gave the room an eerie chill. There were no windows to speak of. There was very little inside the cell beside a wooden board, likely meant to be his bed, and a rudimentary chair and table... and the chains on the northern wall. Loki was forced down the stone steps from the door. The captain of this new guard, none of whom Loki recognized, nodded at the Einherjar behind. The door was shut with a deafening thud and jangle of keys. A guard stood on either side of the fallen prince, holding his arms firmly. The others began to circle.

"It's been a long time, _your highness_ ," the captain hissed, voice dripping with venom. His eyes and smile were nothing short of wicked. Loki stared at him, calculating his actions. "Give me the keys."

The captain continued smiling as he removed Loki's handcuffs. Handing them and the keys to another guard, he reached up to the trickster's jaw. He pressed the releases on the gag, pulling it gently out of his mouth. "There, now. That's better, isn't it?"

Loki flexed his jaw, considering the situation. He kept silent, his tongue nursing where the muzzle had agitated his mouth. Perhaps it was best to say nothing.

"You know, Loki," the captain continued, "you truly have been missed. Norns, the poor Queen was so devastated by your absence..." He paused, seeming to relish the taste of his words. "...but the Allfather was looking forward to your return more than anyone." He turned to his fellow guards, eyes still flashing.

"King's orders."

The grip on Loki's arms suddenly became tighter. He struggled in a panic, but the guards only constricted him further. The captain scoffed and landed a blow directly in the prince's stomach. Loki shouted in pain, gasping for the air that had been knocked from him. No sooner did he take a breath when another guard behind him brought a club down between his shoulders. Loki fell to the ground, desperate for air. He squeezed his eyes closed in agonizing pain, only worsened by the onset of metal and leather boots. All he could taste was the metallic sting of blood. The ringing in his ears was disrupted by their rancor.

"It's been entirely too long, _King_ Loki."

"Jotunn bastard."

"Should have let the Bifrost kill you, Loki!"

"Traitor."

"Animal."

"Monster."

After what seemed like eons, the blows ceased, and Loki was pulled to his feet. He could barely see, couldn't think, all he knew was pain. The guards held his arms again as their captain pulled something shiny from a pouch at his belt. 

"The King had these made special for you," he explained, grabbing Loki's wrist. He held the trickster's fingers firmly, covering one with a gold cap. Loki winced at what felt like needles inside, dragging along his skin. "You see, he hasn't forgotten your knack for sorcery, and... well, we simply can't chance anything." The feigned gentleness and care in the captain's voice nearly hurt worse than the pins as the caps, once by one forced onto his fingers, all held together by a thin chain. His digits were all but fused together by the new device.

"Can't spells be said out loud, Kalf?" one of the guards said.

The captain of the guard laughed. "I'd almost forgotten. Isolf, you're the one who's father's a tanner? Did you get what I asked for?"

"I did, sir."

"Hold him down, then."

The guards pinned Loki to the ground, three standing by his head and holding it firm. The trickster writhed like a dying snake, his eyes widening as he beheld what the captain gripped in his right hand. 

"That tongue of yours has always gotten you into trouble, Jotunn," he said, straddling Loki's stomach, readying the awl. Any other like it would have shone in the dim torchlight, but this one - blunt, rusted, ancient - was merely dark among the shadows. Loki whimpered as the captain drew it close to his mouth. "A gag could keep anyone silent, but for you... well, your tongue isn't worthy to rust such a fine mask. So we've devised a better solution. Hold him, and ready the cord."

Loki screamed in agony as his jaw was held fast, the awl piercing his lower lip. He could feel the metallic fluid flowing through his clenched teeth. The rough fibers of the flax cord dragged excruciatingly against the open flesh, He struggled to move, to breath, to have any semblance of control over the situation. But he was helpless. He felt the blood running hot down his chin and neck, and he heard the jeering of the guards over the ringing in his ears. It was deafening. No matter how he screamed, no one would hear him. Punctured, bruised, and bleeding, no one cared enough to help him. He would die here.

It seemed to take a thousand years, but at long last, the deed was done. The cold air of the cell stung at the wounds where the cord was laced, holding his mouth shut. Loki tried to collect his thoughts, but his mind felt dead. He was caught in the fog of some horrific dream, where time and place and being did not exist. He could only lie there, helpless, alone.

***

Frigga struggled with the guards for hours before finally storming into the throne room. Odin sat back, a raven perched on either side of him, a satisfied look on his face. His eye gleamed.

"Call off your guards," the Queen demanded. "Let me see him."

"Do you realize what he has done?" Odin said. "The atrocities he has committed?"

"More than you know. Call off the guards. Let me speak to him before the trial."

"There will be no trial."

Frigga's heart went cold. Her mouth fell agape as she felt her stomach twist. "You cannot mean..?"

"I can, and I do," the Allfather stated bluntly. "I have given the orders. He will die tonight."

"You can't do this. You can't! He is your son!" she shrieked, tears streaming down her face.

"He is not my son, he is a jotunn bastard!" Odin barked. 

"Keep your hatred for Laufey out of this-"

"And he is a criminal! He is a murderer and a warmonger! Every realm he sets foot on descends into only chaos and destruction. I will not allow that monster to become King of the Ashes. He would see us dead at his feet given the chance!"

"Hypocrite. You speak as though you have no blood on your own hands." Frigga's eyes were wild and desperate. 

"As King of Asgard-" 

"What manner of king kills without fair trial? What king would wrench a man from his mother, no matter what he's done? Perhaps he is nothing to you, but he is my son at least! I took him in as my own. I nursed him at my own breast. I raised him when no one else would love him. You would take him from Thor and I forever?"

"He elected his fate long ago." The throne room fell silent for a moment.

"You know nothing, Odin Borson," Frigga said at last. 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me preface these notes with a heartfelt, from-the-bottom-of-my-dark-dark-soul, sorry. Believe me, it hurts me more than it hurts you, mainly because I've seen this all in my head before writing it. And I've also thrown myself around and poked myself repeatedly in the lips with a toothpick. Yay research! Also I apologize for not writing in a long time - I've been drawing a lot. And I also got to see Tom Hiddleston in the flesh (seven feet from me!!!) and have been reeling from how amazing that is. Retelling that story has taken a lot of time.
> 
> \- As mentioned, this whole idea was conceived LONG before Dark World came out. The original version is on my old computer, which I may still upload if I can ever access it again. I remember being in the theatre and saying to my boyfriend, "That place is a five star hotel compared to what I'm doing". I wanted more of a medieval or ancient feel to Asgard, rather than the Star Wars-esque direction that was taken. That starts with terrible dungeons.
> 
> \- There are nine levels to Odin's dungeons, and there are many of them. I originally thought to have nine of them as nine is a very significant number in Norse folklore, but later realized I could draw parallels to Hell from Dante's Inferno, with each level being reserved for different forms of sin, or in this came, crime.
> 
> \- The muzzle is entirely different than what it is in the films. Inside is a T-shaped plate that goes between and then behind the teeth. Unlike in Endgame where it simply appears, this gag is something that needs to be forced on. 
> 
> \- The Einherjar in Norse folklore are the dead living in Valhalla, however in the Marvel universe, they're the warrior elite.
> 
> \- The captain of the guard is named Kalf (pronounced with the L, not like a baby cow). Fans of the show Vikings will recall a character by the same name, who's a backstabbing son of a bitch. I did draw some inspiration from him, but mainly I wanted someone truly vile, completely evil but thinking he's in the right the entire time, who thrives off others' suffering. There will be more mentions of him in Elska Tattur at a later time, but for now, know he's the absolute worst.
> 
> \- The finger caps may need an illustration at a later time, similar to the gag. 
> 
> \- There are several references throughout media of Loki's mouth being sewn shut. In the folklore, he may have deserved it. In the comics, it's far more brutal. I also chose flax cord because it's the roughest of the different types of twine. Also those wounds will get infected, I promise.
> 
> \- "More than you know" According to the Dark World prequel comic, Frigga searched the cosmos for Loki with her magic and eventually found him. It's quite possible she knew precisely what he was up to. But assuming she didn't, Heimdall did, and she was constantly in consult with him (at least I say she was).
> 
> \- Frigga will get to see Loki in the next chapter. And Loki obviously isn't going to die... not really, anyway.
> 
> Okay, I'm going to try to update chapter two of this and then continue with Elska Tattur. The only reason I haven't worked on ET is that a friend of mine said she wished to read this to get background, which made good sense to me. So I'm working on this. And about seventeen other things. I'm sorry.
> 
> Want to talk to me? Harass me for new chapters? Send me hate mail because I'm evil? Find me here!  
> twitter.com/lognsmed  
> curiouscat.me/laiqalasse  
> pusleoftheearth.tumblr.com


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